victim on this. >> out of time. liz, thank you. >> bye-bye. >> that does it for us. i'm eric shawn in new york. america's news headquarters is coming up. >> i'm jamie colby. have a great day, everybody. thank you for being with us. thank you for being with us. >> take care. captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> shannon: political showdown. game-changer in alaska. after losing the g.o.p. primary, senator lisa murkowski mounts a write-in bid to keep her seat in washington. we'll get reaction from the republican nominee and tea party favorite, joe miller. back home, sarah shourd, an american woman released from iran after more than a year in detention is back in the u.s. today. we'll have a live report. hurricane igor, big waves pound bermuda beaches as the islanders rush to board up windows, fill sandbag and stock up on water and food and supplies. all of this as word the b.p. oil spill is finally oil over to. i'm shannon bream. america's news headquarters from the nation's capitol starts right now. alaska senator lisa murkowski is defending her decision to

continue campaigning now as a write-in candidate. there has been a lot of backlash from those in her party this weekend. julie kirtz is following the story and has the latest. >> reporter: the two-term alaska senator isn't give up her job without a fight. lisa murkowski says her decision to challenge the republican nominee joe miller as a write-in candidate will not undermine the republican party. murkowski also used her appearance on national television today to accuse miller as being too extreme. >> he is suggesting to us, in my opinion, and in the opinion of many, many alaskans some pretty radical things. we dump social security no, more medicare, get rid of the department of education. elimination of all earmarks. >> firing back today for the first time since his victory, turned into a three-way general election race. two republicans against democrats scott mcadams.

appearing on sunday sunday, miller said murkowski has a desire by voters to slow down government spending. here is miller. >> i think really she has a real disconnection from reality in thinking that the voters in alaska are extreme. >> well, miller won the g.o.p. nomination by just about 2,000 votes. so it was close. but murkowski has a tough job as write-in. the republican leaders are calling her a spoiled sport for refusing to accept the victory. although the murkowski name is well known in alaska, her dad was governor, voters will have to spell out her name on the ballot and spell it correctly. shannon? >> shannon: that could be a glitch for her. a tough one. thank you, julie kirtz with the latest. joe miller in alaska, sharron angle in nevada and now christine o'donnell in delaware. they've had some success.

we have a political panel. kirsten powers, and chairman of the california republican party ron nearing. thank you both for joining us this morning. >> good to be here. >> shannon: what does the christine o'donnell victory this week say to us? what is the message? >> well, you know, you can't read into just one win. if you look for the bigger picture, it says a lot of people first of all under estimated the tea party. we have seen that time and time again. it's a potent political force. i don't think you would see christine o'donnell winning without the ground swell coming up behind her and she represents something bigger. both parties underestimate the tea party at their peril. they will cause upset in the election. >> shannon: ron, talk about the tea party, within the g.o.p., as an addendum to the g.o.p. where do you see the tea party holding in or not holding in and does the

g.o.p. ignore or distance themselves at their own peril? >> i see tea party candidates in my state of california involved in the get out the vote effort. the big question is how we define victory. in every stage, the tea party group and others did a good job defining victory. the first definition was to build an organization and get known and have their voice heard in the political process. they've done that. the next step is support the political candidates in the primary. they've done that effectively. now the next step is for us together to define victory as winning the general election in november. working together to turn the republican vote out. that means recognizing that the world is run by those who show up. and i'm excited about the number of activists we see participating in that. we will work together to ensure we put nancy pelosi back in the minority and

harry reid back in nevada. >> shannon: talk about california where ron is busy there. we have the boxer-fiorina match-up, and meg whitman and jerry brown. she set a record this week for the amount of personal money poured in a race. what do you make of the numbers? >> i find it kind of interesting with people being so consumed how much money in this case, in this case consumed with how much money she is spending, carly fiorina and meg whitman. a lot of people spend their personal fortunes to get elected. i gets more and more expensive every time. so we should expect each time people break records. michael bloomberg spent a gazillion dollars to get elected repeatedly and he's quite beloved. maria cantwell used her personal wealth to get elected. it's beside the point and people should be concerned with the policies they i'll have and what they will do for the country and less consumed you're spending your

money. they are not well-known people so they have to spend more money than incumbent. >> shannon: both of the races we mentioned are very tight. recent careers, california hasn't been a republican hotbed. how are you going to change that for the fall? >> things have already been changing in california. we flipped san diego county from majority democrat county to republican republican county. fifth largest county in america and bigger than a dozen states. we registered more than 200,000 republicans in the state. for the first time in years we have seen the gap with republican and democrats in voter registration to narrow. democrats still have 2.3 million more members than we do in the state. but meg whitman, outstanding candidate for governor polling ahead of jerry brown. still going to be tight. and barbara boxer and carly fiorina in a statistical dead heat. it shows in a state where the democrats outnumber us by a substantial number, our candidates are proving

competitive. the issue isn't how much money they spend but whether the ideas are right for the country; particularly at a time when the economy is suffering and the obama stimulus failed. in our state we have unemployment 2% higher than national average. economy is front and center. they're reluctant to turn the keys over to jerry brown and barbara boxer for another few years to go in that direction. >> shannon: we'll be watching to see what california voters and voters across the country decide. thank you both very much. >> thank you. >> shannon: the latest tea party victor christine o'donnell was supposed to sit down with "fox news sunday" host chris wallace today but that didn't happen. find out why she happened and what chris had to say about it, when i sit down with him later on in the show. this is a fox news alert. five months after rupturing and causing the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history, we are getting word that the blown-out b.p. well at the bottom of gulf of

mexico is declared dead. that announcement follows testing that had engineers exerting 15,000 pounds of weight to get cement plug on the well to make sure it wouldn't budge. the white house released statement about the well's closure saying in part, "today we achieved an important milestone in our response to the b.p. oil spill." the final determination of the damaged well that sat deep on the gulf of mexico. i commend admiral thad allen and the thousands of men and women who worked around the clock to respond to this crisi crisis. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is in the u.s. he arrived today to deliver a speech at the u.n. general assembly. molly henneberg is standing by with more on what we can expect. hi, molly. >> you never know what to expect when iran president speaks at the united nations. it usually has attacks on u.s. and israel. mahmoud ahmadinejad arrived in new york today said leading up to the u.n. general assembly meeting that the multi-rounds of sanctions by the u.n. security counsel

over iran controversial nuclear weapons program have been "pathetic." ahmadinejad said in an interview that aired today, "these sanctions will definitely mark a new level of progress in our economy. we have turned sanctions around and created opportunities out of this. it doesn't mean certainly that we take it seriously, but it does not mean it has a negative influence on our economy because it does not." secretary clinton says it has had and will continue to have an effect on iranians. >> the information we're getting is the iranian regime is worried about the impact on their banking system, on their economic growth. because they encountereded tough economic times and this is making it more costly. >> reporter: secretary clinton said thus far iran has not agreed to attend meetings on the nuclear program. during the u.n. session this week, she says iran needs to permit full nuclear

inspection by the iaea. ahmadinejad said his nation is not blocking the inspections but the iaea said last week yes, some of its inspectors have not been allowed to do their job inside iran. shannon? >> shannon: all right. so his usual maneuvers continue. molly henneberg, thank you very much. american hiker sarah shourd released last week from iranian custody is back on u.s. soil today. she is expected to hold a press conference later in new york. peter doocy is live in new york with the latest. >> reporter: according to a family spokesperson, sarah shourd and her mother nora arrived on a commercial flight from dubai to dulles airport in virginia, outside washington, d.c. she's the only hiker released. iran let her go on humanitarian grounds once $500,000 bail was paid. she will address the u.s. media for the first time today at 3:00 in new york at the parker meridian hotel a

few blocks away from our world headquarters in midtown manhattan. sarah and her mother will read from prepared remarks. when they're finished, the mother of the two hikers who remain jailed at the prison in tehran will hold a press conference. secretary of state hillary clinton spoke about the whole situation this morning. >> great relief. i was so pleased that this young woman was able to come home. i want the other two young american americans josh and shane to come home as well. as a mother, i met with their mothers and i can't even imagine how painful the experience that they themselves have had inside prison, but then, of course, the pain that their families feel. >> reporter: shourd made a brief statement yesterday and did not make a mention of her 410-day stay inside the iranian prison or the health problems which allegedly help get her release. the remarks were made in an ally of iran and the united

states. interesting to see if she changes her tune now that she's back home. we are heading over to the press conference shortly and will have her remarks live at 3:00. . >> shannon: we look forward to that. thank you very much. as the ballot counting gets underway in afghanistan parliamentary election, some observers are already questioning the legitimacy of the vote. afghan group that monitored yesterday's election said numerous fraud allegation surfaced, including abuse that the indelible ink used for voters could be washed off. it was also marred by violence. 14 people were killed in attacks across the country. a pair of car bombs throughout baghdad. ten were killed in a blast and fluid neighborhood in western part of the city. the near attack broke two-week period of relative

calm. pope benedict xvi marked his trip to england. he had a personal reflection on the battle of england and said he was forced to join the hitler youth and suffered through the dark days of the nazi regime and called it deeply moving to be if britain on the anniversary of the attack on the mainland by nazi bombers. scheduled to head home in the next hour. hurricane igor is bearing down on bermuda. the island is bracing for a direct hit sometime tonight. we have team coverage of the hurricane. rick leventhal is in bermuda, but first check in on the latest of the igor track with meteorologist rick reichmuth in the weather center. >> getting very close. the center of the storm is close to bermuda. this is the latest. 100 miles to the southwest of bermuda. it will continue to pull up to the north.

the winds are down to 85 miles per hour. that's good news from yesterday. a weaker storm is going to be good news for the folks in bermuda. this graphic here, anyone seeing the yellow are the winds that are tropical storm force strength. orange is the hurricane storm gusts, gusts over 75 miles per hour. red is sustained hurricane winds. put this in motion here and you can probably within the next three or four hours or so we'll be seeing sustained hurricane force winds right around the bermuda area, that goes at least until 11:00 or 12:00. we talk about a six or seven-hour period where we see the sustained hurricane force winds. gusting still probably well into tomorrow morning. tomorrow afternoon it will be gone. good news it's a weaker storm. a large storm and it will take a long time to move through the area. constant battering in the next number of hours. shannon? >> shannon: thank you for the latest. we can be prepared. igourmet be category one hurricane, but ilanders aren't taking any chances and

they are preparing for a punishing storm. rick leventhal is monitoring the scene live from bermuda. what is the latest on the scene there? >> reporter: shannon, we hear wind speeds consistently at 50 miles per hour at the airport with the gusts to 66 miles per hour. they are feeling the effects on the southern coast. we have view and the effects up here, not as dramatic down by the water. take a look. here is a close-up look at some of the violent waves that are already hitting bermuda southern coast. with the worst of hurricane igor still several hours away. we are seeing storm surge and some pretty rough conditions. the rough surf chewed away several feet of sand at the coconut restaurant. you can see the rocks exposed because the beach used to be several feet higher, up to

the base of the platform. a few hotel guests that were still here have been moved to the higher area, condo on the cliff to keep them out of harm's way. the condos are where we are reporting from and will be throughout the storm. the 10% of of the residents lost power. there are concerns about the waves as we've seen and the storm surge. already some flooding reported. >> shannon: be careful. thank you for the latest. a group described as cult-like waiting for end of the world and why they're now missing and why authorities are fearing the worst. and the latest of the military service overseas. will they get ballots in time and will the vote count? we have update up next. interesting grooming.

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>> shannon: update now on a subject near and dear to us at fox. voting rights of their military service members deployed overseas. the department of just -- justice has reached deals with colorado, district of columbia and hawaii to ensure

troops and other americans living overseas will get absentee ballots in time. all the enties had requested and been denied waivers allowing them to ignore a new voting law that requires the absentee ballots to be mailed out 45 days before november general election. we will keep an eye on the story. new resolution is bringing back the textbook debate in texas. some see it as a shot from conservatives on the board and others say it's a way to stop the push of politically correct agenda. rudy, from ktvc has more. >> this is the resolution that is reigniting the texas textbook war. warning to not print textbook with pro-islamic anti-christian slant. conservative activist jonathan sein believes the warning is justified. >> texas soon will adopt is upment and textbook for social study standards and the state board wants to give direction to publishers about what they think is in the best interest.

>> four board members are sponsoring the resolution. they include ken mercer, representing south austin. it claims that the past books praised islam and described christianity in a darker light. there are people described as middle easterners buying american publishing companies and that increases the risk for religious bias. kathy miller a vocal school board critic believes the resolution deserves a failing grade. >> it really does seem to be about manufacturering a political controversy and not addressing anything real. one way we know that is the board members have not consulted any real scholars. >> officials say the e.t.a. and the examples in the resolution of perceived bias come from textbooks phased out ten years ago or were never used in texas. in may they approve new standards for texas and will be ready for school year but

may not be purchased due to cutbacks in the budget. >> shannon: a game change alaska. lisa murkowski mounts a write-in bid campaign. chris wallace, anchor of "fox news sunday," finds out what joe miller thinks of that. and why tea party darling christine o'donnell canceled on chris. and legalization of marijuana is on the ballot in california. should voter just say no? that's coming up next. ♪ just one bite opens a world of delight... ♪

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>> shannon: this is a fox news alert. dutch police say they have a mon of somali descent in custody suspected of terror ties. catherine herridge is working the phones and working the story and joins us by phone to tell us what she has been able to discover. this is a brand new story. what can you tell us? >> thank you, shannon. based on some reporting we're getting out of amsterdam, we believe the individual is

british national of somali descent and detained on a plane heading to uganda in africa. in addition, what the significance means so far, we're not getting traction from homeland security officials or t.s.a. officials as to who the individual may be or why they were detained. but the significant thing here is there is the real emergence of the group al shabab this somalia. i don't want to get ahead of ourselves but the question is whether this individual is linked to the group, which has been active recruiting american citizens and british nationals. i find interesting so far based on details we've been able to confirm is the destination of uganda. there was a twin suicide bombing attack that coincided with the world cup. dozens of people were killed. that bombing was claimed by the group al shabab based in somalia.

senior intelligence official told me this week there are questions in the community whether the attack was the first signal that al shabab in somalia is no longer content to be a regional player but yet another al-qaeda affiliate that has gone global in the way al-qaeda in yemen is global. that group is related to the attempted bombing on christmas day. >> shannon: thank you for giving us the context on that. >> you're welcome. >> shannon: we'll check back with you if we get more. thank you. in other news, hurricane igor is making its way to bermuda at this hour. molly henneberg has more on that and other top stories. >> hurricane igor is expected to make landfall in bermuda sometime tonight. the storm has been downgraded to cat gore one hurricane and still packs winds up to 85 miles per hour. local residents spent the weekend boarding up windows and filling sandbags in hopes to minimum damage. after being held captive in iran for over a year, american hiker sarah shourd arrived back in the u.s. this morning. shourd is on her way to new

york city where she will give live remarks at 3:00 this afternoon. two other hikers are jailed in iran. two car bombs in central baghdad killed 31 people today. the blast broke a period of relative calm in the region since the end of the holy month of ramadan two weeks ago. and rumor has it sarah palin will make an appearance in the audience as tomorrow's preview of "dancing with the stars." palin's daughter bristol is one of the season's contestants. the new season kick cans off tomorrow night -- kicks off tomorrow night on abc. those are some of the top stories. are you a "dancing with the stars" fan? >> shannon: it's better to watch others. i can see molly on "dancing with the stars." i have two left feet. >> no way. it will be fun to watch bristol palin and mrs. brady, florence henderson is there. david hasselhoff. >> shannon: don't forget "the situation." >> from "jersey shore." >> shannon: thank you, molly. this weekend, alaska senator lisa murkowski announced she is going to run as a write-in

candidate in an effort to save the senate seat. the republican establishment not happy about that. i sat down with chris to get his take on that and also his reaction to christine o'donnell's last-minute "fox news sunday" cancellation. >> chris, you had a little different show than you were planning on a few days ago today. christine o'donnell just captured the g.o.p. senate nomination out of delaware was to be your guest. that didn't happen. we'll let you explain that. you had on a man -- there has been a war of words with the two of them this week, karl rove. >> i love the way you describe a car wreck to the victim. we had booked christine o'donnell. she was going to be here live at this desk. late friday, her campaign sent us an e-mail saying she was exhausted. and was going to go back to delaware. she called me personally saturday morning to give a slightly different story and said she had been triple booked, that she had a church she had to go to sunday morning and a picnic. in any case, she is always welcome to back to "fox news sunday." but we did talk to karl rove. and what interested me as much as his criticism is the

heat that he has taken for basically saying she's got some things she has to deal with. i mean there are irregularities about her finances. she had some problems with the i.r.s. never very good thing. problems about paying her college. whether she has used campaign funds for personal reasons. karl rove, look, nobody wants to see republicans win more than karl rove but he is basically saying she can't ignore this. she has to address it up front. because of the fact it's a barrier of noise and people won't hear her message, which she thinks is a good one until she deals with it. >> do you think he was surprised about the backlash he got, not only from her but from the folks saying you are the establishment now and you are out of touch with what the new trend is, the tea party? >> you know, it's funny because karl rove, you know, nobody has better bona fides in the republican party than karl rove. at fox news hes an analyst and i give him credit for

saying what he think, not parting the party -- spouting the party line. as he learned sometimes you say what you think is the truth people get mad at you. >> you asked him today is there a civil war in the g.o.p.? >> he doesn't think there are a civil war but he thinks there are different wings of the party and clearly after losses in 2006 and 2008 there are different factions in the party and they are fighting for what they want. tea party movement is as much with the establishment failures and what they see the opposing in capitol hill breaking promises of cutting spending and allow iing government to continue to grow. maybe not as upset with the democrats but plenty upset with the republicans as well. one thing as a political reporter i love is the idea of all of the tea partiers coming to washington next year to see are they going to change washington or is washington going to change them? it will be a fascinating story.

>> fantastic question. one folk who was hoping to coming here, joe miller the nominee for the seat for alaska, you asked him about current senator lisa murkowski's announcement now she that she will be a write-in candidate after losing the battle with him for the party nomination. >> this is a close race. remember, in the primary, he only won by 2,000 votes. he is running against a democrat scott mcadams and he is leading only by 6 points in the poll. now if you throw in a third party -- look, it's going to be hard for her to win. there hasn't been i just found out today, there hasn't been a write-in candidate elected to the u.s. senate since strom thurmond in 1950s. in the case of alaska, you have to write her name, complicated name and fill in the little space. it's not easy for her to win. could she siphon enough republican votes away from joe miller so scott mcadams

the democrat wins? now you have conservative state with two senators? something to look for on election night. >> shannon: 40 days to go. thank you. you can catch chris wallace interview with joe miller and former senior advisor to president bush karl rove at 2:00 and 6:00 on fox. 13 people are missing in the los angeles area and they are worried the families say they're part of a cult-like group and awaiting the rapture. and casey stegall has the latest. >> a strange story. no one has seen or heard from the group since early next morning and a handful of family members got concerned and showed up here to the palmdale sheriff office yesterday afternoon. told police that the group managed. they told authorities that the woman leading the group had taken them to a prayer

meeting. but it's what they left behind in a bag for the family members that not only has everyone scratching their head, but also frightened and alarmed. >> there were notes we're going to go meet jesus, we are going to meet relatives deceased. looking forward to it. there was a personal belongings. there were deeds to homes. there was cash. there were items that would lead you to believe that somebody is leaving it behind. >> also in that bag as you heard, i.d.s and cell phones as well. police went to the palmdale home where they were seen holding a bible study at 1:00 in the morning but there were no signs of the missing. they found a room with chairs set up, papers on the floor and bibles open to specific verses. it was part of a mainstream christian church in the area

at one time. later broke off to form their own religious sect. police characterized them as a cult-like organization. and they fear that a massive suicide plot has been planned here. massive search is currently underway. we should tell you out of the group of 13, eight of them are children. one as young as three years old. >> shannon: frightening story. we'll check back with you for updates. thank you. coming up, we will tell you why a piece of legislation called "dream act" could turn into a nightmare for some on capitol hill. upplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. citracal. ♪ well, it feels so good [ female announcer ] new charmin ultra soft has an ultra-cushiony design that's soft and more absorbent. so you can use four times less versus the leading value brand.

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>> thanks. >> shannon: there are people on both sides of this and all kind of arguments. you did research and now you say you are a no. >> i'm a no. i have to admit as a former prosecutor and defense attorney i've seen both sides. it's very clear now that alcohol and marijuana are very dissimilar. the argument for the pro legalization crowd is they're sort of similar and we should allow marijuana. prohibition in the '30s didn't make sense. go ahead and regulate and tax marijuana. alcohol in moderation is good for your health. research is very clear. marijuana in any amount is not good for you. it's more like heroin or cocaine and it contributes to lung damage, brain damage, decreased educational standards. so you can't really put alcohol and marijuana in the same category. it's a ploy to get people to buy in to legalization movement. >> shannon: all right. someone in favor of legalizing is jessica corey, conservative from colorado. interesting that she argues for this. one of her viewpoints is it's

about money, money spent on enforcement. here is what she told us on fox not long ago. >> we have schools, highways and roads. and again, we are giving each american the moment they're born a $45,000 bill for their share of the national debt. i am very concerned about my children's economic future. when it comes to whether or not they will smoke pot or use drugs i'll be the effective voice whether they do so. government will have no impact. that's what they've proven. >> shannon: she says government is wasting money to crack down on marijuana use. some in california argue if they legalize it they can control it and tax us and get revenue in that state they need revenue. what is wrong with this? >> the scheme in play for november in california basically says if we regulate and control it, we will raise $1.4 billion. it will actually cost the state billions of dollars. the way it's set up is if there is anyone over 21 can use a plot of land, 24 square feet or 25 square feet and

grow as much marijuana as they want. that means that every person eligible can produce between $25,000 and $ -- 25,000 and 250,000 marijuana cigarettes a year. who is going to go to the state store and pay $50 an ounce tax plus cost of product if they get it from the neighbor growing joints? they won't pay the tax. it will cost in healthcare cost. decrease productivity. increase crime. i'm sympathetic to her fiscal concerns about the state mismanagement of funds. completely. but this is actually going to cost the state billions. >> shannon: all right. we will keep an eye on the vote and we'd love to have you back as it plays out in california to learn more. thank you for your time. >> thanks. >> shannon: negotiating mideast peace is one thing but doing it while you throw your daughter's wedding? that is a real accomplishment. secretary of state hillary clinton shares thoughts on planning her daughter's wedding amidst the other things she's busy doing up next. hi.

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>> shannon: iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is in new york for the annual u.n. general assembly meeting. this is new video there. all eyes on the iran nuclear program. and the security council opposed four rounds of

sanctions against iran. on abc "this week," ahmadinejad said he is ready to discuss this on his trip and that he takes sanctions seriously. the development and relief of alien act, dream act, dub that young illegals in the u.s. could earn citizenship going to college or joining the military. president obama is a big supporter of the act, which is attached to defense spending bill up for consideration in washington next week. but a number of senators say democrats are playing politics. to talk about it, frank sherry joining us and the executive director of america's voice. thank you for coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> shannon: the dream act, some folks say even if you don't debate merits of the act, now that it's attached to defense spending bill, which funds our men and women in uniform, is it a political ploy? what do you make of that? >> these are people who grew up in america and are here illegally through no fault of their own. many want to join the military.

if you look at the strategic plan that department of defense has through 2010, it calls for a dream act because it makes the all volunteer force battle ready. a lot of the kids are in the rotc. this is the only country they've known and prepared to defend and die for america. germane to dream act and appropriate to make sure they can join the arm service and defend the country they love. >> shannon: it has sparked infighting. harry reid is in a tough race for his re-election bid in nevada. he is pushing for this. then you have senator mccain on the other side saying hey, this is a blatant ploy to grab hispanic votes. you are in a tough re-election fight. who are we to believe? is it germane to the topic? >> the reason harry reid is bringing it up is not just for his re-election, it's to put the republicans on the

cross hairs. george bush did a fabulous job of attracting hispanic vote. and he karl rove were masters at it. but they have lost country. there are people who are here illegally and want to go to college. if the republican party stands together and says no, i don't think that's a good political move. >> shannon: how do you respond to those saying it's form of amnesty? >> it's form of accountability. you have to meet age, military requirements, education requirements, good moral character requirements. not everybody who might be eligible will get through. it's kids that are valedictorians, rotc members, done what we asked them to do, learn english and aspire to great thing. to me this is mom and apple pie. i'm a bill that's bipartisan is controversial. i hope they get a chance for

the kids to become americans. >> shannon: there are seven g.o.p. votes for this in a similar measure in 2007. >> yeah. >> shannon: we watch and wait to see if they vote for it this time. >> there will 13 members, current republicans that voted for a dream act in the past. see if they do this time. >> shannon: thank you for stopping by. tea party groups are hanging their hopes in kentucky u.s. senate race on republican rand paul up against jack conway in the mid-term election. paul was interviewed on fox. conway declined an invitation to appear as well. paul argued against obama economic policies and highlighted the issues that he and the tea party supporters want to address in a different way. >> we are concerned about a government out of control and we are concerned that we may not come out of this recession. we think we need to go to a

different direction. >> shannon: he says he plans to form a tea party caucus in washington to sway republicans to be more true to the party platform. planning your daughter's wedding is never easy, but especially if you happen to be the secretary of state. hillary clinton tells abc "this week" it was the most ponderful, difficult and stressful task she has taken on in the last few months and said wedding planning is stressful but doing it in the, "midst of diplomatic negotiations" made it more so. i can only imagine. chelsea clinton led her longtime boyfriend this summer. we explore how a tea party favorite from alaska and conservative south carolina senator who bucked his party have become a force to be reckoned with in the mid-term elections.

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washington. i see press reports of anonymous staff members cowards saying things they won't say to me. a lot of the republicans here will whisper to me that you know, keep up the fight. >> demint in this cycle has thrown his weight behind 12 gop candidates. nine winners. most aa audacious was the backg of mar co-rubio. now, he is vowing to raise by next week $174,000 for kristine oh donald. >> people can come to senate conservatives.com and give directly to candidates. we have ten candidates on the site and hopefully we will hit 5 million before november 2. >> only sarah palin who boasts no beltway title rivals demint as an unofficial gop kingmaker

this year. endorsed 43 candidates and racked up an impressive 25-11 record. like demint palin rejects the kingmaker title and denies seeking the role. >> i'm not in this for any kind of personal gain or power grab. i don't even know how to play those type of games and don't have the the people and machines and whatever it takes to be in a position like that. i'm thankful that jim demint is so bold and courageous that he is getting out there and making these endorsements, too, and no competition there at all. >> senator cornyn said he enjoys common cause with governor palin and jim demint especially now that the general election season is upon us but made rye ref fence lens to the senate as an institution with 100 egos and 200 sharp elbows. in washington, james rosen, fox news. >> shannon: right now pope benedict is wrapping up a four day state trip to britain that came with a bit of controversy

and apparently some threats on his life. at a mass he told followers the world felt shame and horror over the death and destruction inflicted on europe in world war ii. british police arrested six men. they were freed without being charged after searches of their london homes had not turned up any weapons. any moment now the pope is expected to return hope to the vatican. i'm shannon bream. hour number two of america's news headquarters live from the nation's capital starts right now. this is a fox news alert. dutch police say they have a british man of somali descent with suspected terror ties in custody. the suspect thought to be linked to the al-qaeda inspired extremist group. he was arrested at an amsterdam airport this morning. he was traveling to uganda. we will bring you more details on the arrest as soon as we get them. alaska senator lisa murkowski

is moving ahead with her write-in campaign in an effort to hold on to her u.s. senate seat and creating a potential split in alaska's gop. julie kirtz has the latest. >> senator murkowski says she is not undercutting the republican party with her write-in race though she is pushing ahead with the decision to run as a write-nintendo and pushing to the center as she -- writein candidate. she is trying to raise money to take on tea party favorite joe miller. her message boils down to mill is too radical for alaska and says outside tea party activists conducted a live smear campaign on his behalf. here is murkowski. >> he is suggesting to us in my opinion and in the opinion of many, many alaskans radical things. we dump social security. no more medicare. let's get rid of the department of education. elimination of all ear marks.

you know, he is -- he has taken an approach that is just plain and simple more radical than where the people of the state of alaska are. >> miller, who was endorsed by sarah palin says it is murkowski who is out of touch with voters who he believes want to reverse the growth of government spending and aren't impressed with politicians who brag about bringing home the bacon. here is miller. >> she is not listening well to the alaskan voters because this primary we had the largest turnout of republican voters in the history of the state and they state resoundingly, well, 2,000 votes is as resoundingly as it gets, that the views that we expressed in the campaign are the views that the future of the state needs to embrace. >> both miller and murkowski con ceded that turnout will be key in the november showdown. the unusual write-in race will be tough for her. national leaders already

accusing the two term senator of being a poor sport for challenging the gop nominee. a race to watch. back to you, shannon. >> shannon: when it comes to congress 47% of people want to start fresh with all new candidates according to the latest fox news opinion dynamics poll and candidates like delaware senate hopeful kristine o'donnell want the feeling to continue through november. can she win in november? and what about other tea party endorsed candidates? the author of boiling mad joins us live now from new york. great to see you today. >> thanks. >> shannon: what do you make of the win with kristine o'donnell on tuesday. come from behind and seems to be feeling very confident. >> definitely coming from behind. when you i heard the chants of the crowd she was saying oh, they say we can't win in november and they all started saying yes, we can, yes, we

can. the echo of obama in 2008 was interesting. the tea party has been organizing and i think people sort of have. seen it coming but sort of behind the scenes they have been really getting motivated and getting voters to the polls and that is what this brackets so many victories. >> talk about alaska and joe miller. 200we have a three way situatin with the current senator lisa murkowski saying i'm going to be a write-in, i don't care who they picked in the gop primary, i'm not going away. >> she may be the remember the joe lieberman instance in connecticut she may by that candidate that wins an independent. alaska gets more federal dollars than any other state so she is going to make the case that joe miller would take away earmarks and they have been important to alaska. she is well known and comes from a political dynasty up there. she could have a chance. the daneedanger is that the two

candidates split the votes and it goes to the democrat. >> shannon: the first we saw that got through the primary now taking on the top senate's democrat. the race seems to be tight. what do you predict for november? >> itth is really tough. sharron angle is the candidate he wanted to run against because i think he thought she would be easier to beat. i think that is the reason harry reid is still alive in the race. she got hit hard out of the gate by people saying she wants to phase out medicare and social security. the republicans look at this and say she is still alive and that is important and i think that race is a real tossup right now. >> shannon: the gop do they stand to gain or lose by the tea party getting involved? this morning karl rove said there is no civil war but in your opinion is there? >> obviously there is a civil war. we have seen that in some of these races. where the republican party stands to gain is we need

enormous numbers of voters coming to the polls. wisconsin had four times as many voters come out for the primary. the tea party is bringing enormous energy. >> shannon: thank you very much for your insights. >> thank you. >> shannon: attendees at the value voters summit made their pick for the person they most want to see challenge the democrats for the white house in two years. indiana congressman mike pence won with 24% of the vote. runner-up former arkansas governor mike huckabee followed by mitt romney, newt gingrich and sarah palin. the straw poll draws a collection of conservative a-lifters every year. the top issues listed as abortion, government spending and repeal of president obama's healthcare overhaul. this is a fox news alert. five months after rupturing and causing the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history the blown-out bp well as the bottom

of the gulf of mexico has been declared officially dead. it follows testing that involves engineers exerting 15,000-pounds of weight against the cement plug to make sure that it wouldn't budge. the white house released a statement about the closure a short time ago saying in part "today we achieved an important milestone in our response to the bp oil spill. the final termmy nation of the damaged well that sat deep under the gulf of mexico. i commend admiral thad allen and the thousands of men and women who worked around the ."ock to respond to this crisis this morning the first family did what a lot of other first families do on sunday. they went to church. they walked across the park to st. john's church. he has attended that church three times before as well as others in the nation's capital but the family has not yet picked one church they want to regularly attend in washington. right now the president is at

andrews air force base playing a round of golf. a beautiful day for this. mahmoud ahmadinejad arrived today to deliver a speech to the u.n. general assembly. molly henneberg with more on what we may expect. secretary of state hillary clinton says no indication at this point that iran will participate in meetings on its controversial nuclear program this week during the u.n. general assembly session even though the members of the permanent five members of the u.s. security council, the u.s., britain, china, russia, france plus germany will be there as well as will iran. >> we indicated our readiness to meet. i will be meeting with my counterparts in the p 5 plus one to discuss where matters stand but as we are speaking right now i know of no meeting that the iranians have agreed

to attend. >> iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad arrived in new york today. the u.n. security council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on his country because of its nuclear program which the u.s. and other nations believe is to create nuclear weapons and a way to deliver them. as for meetings with the p 5 plus one any time soon president ahmadinejad said in an interview "we have a plan to discuss things, to discussish throughs. we have always been ready to discuss issues as long as they are within the legal framework and based upon principles of justice and respect ." he goes on to say that we believe the united states is pressing the iaea to take a political position on the issue "talking about the nuclear issue. once they do that its worth becomes worthless and ineffective. ahmadinejad said his country is not blocking the nuclear watch dog group from inspecting its nuclear sites but the iaea said

last week that iran has blocked some of its inspectors from doing their work. shannon? >> shannon: molly henneberg with the latest. thank you very much, molly. american hiker sarah shourd is back on u.s. soil today. she is expected to hold a press conference a little later in new york and peter dooces is following it live. >> she will address the press at a meeting room in the hotel a few blocks away from our world dells headquarters in mid town manhattan. specificst mention specifics about her 410 days in captivity or even the health problems which allegedly helped get her released for humanitarian reasons but that was in ayman, an ally of the iranians and the united states. we will looking forward to

whether she will go into more detail once she is back home. she and her mother will read from prepared remarks and then the mothers of the two still in custody are going to hold a press conference. there is no word yet about whether or not they will soon be released but the president of iran mahmoud ahmadinejad saided this morning that he thinks since he let one hiker go the united states should release some of its iranian prisoners. >> i believe that it would not be misplaced to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the iranians who are illegally arrested and detained here in the united states. >> again, sarah shourd addressing the u.s. media for the first time today at 3:00 p.m. eastern noon pacific and you can see it right here in less than two hours. >> shannon: as he said, we will have live coverage whenever

that pops up from new york city. you will hear from sarah shourd and the mothers of the other two who remain in custody. we will bring that to you live. waves 12 to 15 feet high pounding bermuda's beaches. it is likely to pass over or close to the atlantic island late tonight or tomorrow. rick restrived blevinthal joine latest. hi, rick. >> hurricane igor at one time was a category 4. down to a 1 now and it has been battering the southern coast of this island for hours now. the hotel where we are at is well situated high above the water but anything down at sea level is getting pounded. the waves of precious and slamming into the rocks along the reef although there aren't

any hitting it at this moment. if you pan to the left you will see the waterfront restaurant which has been closed for several days where the water is reaching that restaurant. take you around the island and show you the causeway that was shut down today. that causeway leading to and from the airport which was closed yesterday afternoon because of the bad weather that was expected. and, in fact, a lot of locals were on the coast yesterday looking at some of the waves because it is quite a sight out here. but the premier of bermuda has warned residents to stay away from the coast and stay in their homes until the storm is over. here is more of what he told us yesterday. >> bermudaians are not afraid of storms and in fact sometimes we tend to brush off storms when we shouldn't. but the descriptions that have been used for this particular storm have scared us.

>> there are already numerous power outages across the island. most people staying off the streets, heeding the warnings. but thousands of people without power including the editor of the royal gazette, the bermudian newspaper which will not publish on monday because of the storm. things getting progressively worse here. back to you. >> shannon: rick, thanks. >> an interesting new study explaining exactly what will happen if congress allows the bush era tax cuts to expire at the end of this year. we all ne who will be there for us in life. people who say, "we're with you, no matter what." at wachovia and w fargo, e're with you, when a house turns into a home... ...when a passion becomes a career... ♪ ...when a relationship turns into a lifetime... and when all the hard work finally pays off.

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>> shannon: here in washington pressure is mounting on lawmakers to extend tax cuts that are going to expire at the end of year. republicans want extensions for all income groups. democrats not so much at least most of them and the debate is the big issue of the mid term election season. brenda buttner anchor of bulls and bears joins us to explain it. >> it is the w class everyone talks about. the so-called wealthy. a new study out by a tax consulting firm shows that all taxpayers get hit if washington allows those cuts to expire as

they are scheduled at the end of the year. yep, any one who pays taxes from the working poor to the middle class to the top earners. herer examples. a typical family of four with household income of $50,000 a year would have to pay $2,900 more next year in taxes. the tax increase if the cuts expire on a family of four making 100 k, $4,500 more in taxes. and it is not just income tax rates that face hikes. the expiring tax breaks help families with children, the child tax credit would fall from half from a thousand dollars to 500. also at risk married couples. the marriage penalty elimination. capital gains and qualified dividends would go up as well. last quarter, u.s. household wealth fell 3%, down nearly 20%

from since right before the expression began. extending the tax cuts does come at a price. a big price. for all of them, adding nearly $4 trillion more to the national debt over the last decade but that is not the time frame most important to lawmakers right now, it is november. this is high stakes to have nearly all voters in the election in november facing tax increases if congress does nothing and it is high stakes for all of us, too, taking more money from our pockets and giving it to the government starting next year if nothing is what they do. shannon, back to you. >> shannon: see if they can agree on anything. brenda buttner, always great to see you, thanks. >> thanks. >> shannon: when it comes to online communication republicans have come a long way since the 2008 presidential campaign. followedf the 10 most tolled twitter accounts on capitol hill belong to republicans and they are more than twice as likely to keep up with the twitter accounts. the most followed member of

congress on twitter is senator john mccain. he is followed by house minority lead john boehner. clare mccaskil and barbara boxer are the only democrats that popped into the top ten. joining us with more on the internet and how it is changing the way that candidates reach out is patricia murphy. great to see you today. >> thanks for having me. >> shannon: i find that interesting the list of the top 10, 8 of the 10 are republicans. are you surprised? >> the reason i'm surprised. i have known this has been coming all along because i follow a lot of these men and women on twitter and you can see the republicans more engagend on twitter. john mccain has been tweeting with snooki and a great way to get more followers and get more people and give them a little sugar to give them a little more substance later on. the reason i was surprised at how republicans have taken to

this is because the barack obama campaign was known for being so dominant with social media. they were able to raise money and get their message out so much better than the republicans were. but the republicans turned the table and they are using twitter, they are using facebook flickr, any kind of social media. republicans are doing more and in most cases i think they are doing it a little better. >> shannon: you mentioned the 2008 presidential campaign and the fact that they did so well with it. the fact that he texted his vice president pick. something unprecedented. now, that we are seeing the focus on social media is it taking away from the millions, billions of dollars spent on tv ads and political campaigns, the most traditional way that people when they have the money to spend it are trying to reach voters? >> if you look at campaign expenditures they are not going down. i don't think any will feel comfortable letting go of the

tv media buys. that is still the most reliable way to reach voters. we are seeing them spend almost as much on a social campaign or social media staff. a lot of challengers are able to sort of level the playing field if they don't have as much money they don't need to by a big tv ad. they can use the twitter feeds and facebook to get the message out just as well. you don't have to have money in the races to do as well. helps always to have more money but it is not the most determinative factor and social networking is a huge part of that. >> shannon: i'm sure we will see it play out this fall. patricia murphy, thank you so much. an update on the terror arrest. dutch police say they have a british man of somali descent with suspected terror ties in custody and klm is confirming to fox that the suspect was removed from one of their flights. the suspect is thought to be linked to the al-qaeda inspired

extremist group and was arrested at an amsterdam airport this morning. dutch officials plan to hold a briefing sometime tomorrow. we will bring you more details as soon as we can get them with the latest suspect under arrest. what do you at home think about the the tax extensions we have been talking about all week? should they be applied to everyone. keith larson asked his listeners. then it is also time to check in withal vi alvin green. he is gunning for the u.s. senate. will he make it? we'll check in, next. will ♪ just one bite opens a world of delight... ♪ ♪ a flavor paradise of delicious fishes ♪ ♪ friskies seafood sensations.

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>> shannon: yesterdays parliament remember he election in afghanistan, suspicions about the legit macy mounts. >> as ballot counting gets underway some are questioning the legitimacy of the process. a group says numerous fraud

allegations already raised including complaints that the so-called in delible ink used to stain voters fingers could be washed off. after being held captive in iran over a year, american hiker sarah shourd arrived back in the u.s. she will give live remarks in new york city at 3:00 this afternoon. alaska senator lisa murkowski says her write-in campaign isn't meant to undermine the republican party. she says she received countless phone calls urging her to stay in the race after she lost the primary to joe miller and she is listening to constituents in making the decision to move forward with the write-in campaign. writing planning is never easy, especially if you are the secretary of state and the mother of the bride at the same time. hillary clinton says the wedding was "the most wonderful, difficult and stressful task she has taken on in the last few months.

". for secretary clinton, handling ahmadinejad and iran's nuclear program a piece of cake after that. >> takes a lot of planning to plan a wedding. >> and both of us thank our moms for our hard work for our wedding. >> and yours was beautiful. i there was. >> thanks, shannon. >> shannon: there are allegations of fraud springing from the elections in afghanistan. conor powell is streaming live from kabul to tell us more. hi, corner. hi, shannon, outside observer groups say there were widespread irregularities across afghanistan that did hinder the vote here in afghanistan yesterday for only the second time in the parliamentary elections here in afghanistan. for the most part, afghans do believe this was a much more improved election and western officials say it was a better election as well. u.s. ambassador karl eikenberry

said considering the circumstances here this was a massive success. he says the indelible ink was to easy to wipe off and there was voter interrogation reports. he says the troops in afghanistan is a big reason why there was progress made in the election. >> you can see progress being made. it comes slow and sometimes there is setbacks but clearly yesterday if it was a good day for a democratic representative government of afghanistan to move forward it is a great day for america. >> now, this is only the beginning of the process. election day was one part and now there are about six more weeks of counting ballots and then last year during the fraud marred presidential election a lot of the fraud happened after election day. u.s. and international

observers will be watching the next couple of weeks to see what happens. right now they are taking a positive attitude towards the success of the election. by no means perfect but a big step forward in afghanistan's development as a country. shannon? >> shannon: thank you so much, corner the internet has revolutionized the way we live from the way we conduct business. the simple act of going online has the power to change someone's world. no where is this more true than in the middle east where the ability to access information online is having an enormous impact. dave is a former rule of law coordinator for the u.s. embassy in baghdad. both returned from a trip to gaza and the west bank where they saw the positive influence of the internet first hand. thank you both for soming in jidelle, what is the level of internet access like and how is that information having an impact? >> we were quite surprised at how high internet penetration

is in the west bank. around 40%. and when we were there we heard in gaza it is higher than official estimates that were as high as 13%. we heard as high as 60%. we found the internet penetration quite high. >> what kind of impact do you think it was having there, that access to info? >> we wanted to look at does the internet have the potential to change conflict zones like gaza and west bank and afghanistan. it does. people in gaza are isolated and use the internet to connect with the outside world. as well, this are economic opportunity in gaza with the internet. because of the embargo they can't bring in or send out goods but can send ideas and cree yeah programs through the internet and create companies that make money through the internet. plus there is also the potential and we saw this among young people to use the internet to communicate with each other and organize to improve their lives.

>> shannon: we have seen the internet used for negative things that people connect with al-qaeda and get other ideas and check in with people that have negative aims this is really a chance to branch into something positive. >> a lot of it is through the exploratory trips to other countries. we do it all over the world and the middle east is one of the regions we do this in. we try to interact with the it community to understand how to better support the enter are entrepreneurs and business needs. we established a couple of google and user groups where software developers and technologists can get together and talk about the internet and different google products and share ideas and information. >> shannon: another important trip coming up? >> yes, we do. we are going to go to iraq and do some of the similar things to georgia d gaza and the west.

in iraq, internet use is very low. could be as low as 1%. there is still potential for companies to be created around the internet and get more content on the internet that is relevant to iraqis and that will help and give them better information. >> shannon: technology certainly changed all of our lives. great to have both of you here today and best wishes with your upu coming trip. >> thank you. >> shannon: president obama wants to extend the cuts for middle class americans but not top earns, that is individuals making $250,000 a year or joint filers. and republicans want to extend them for everyone. what do real americans think? we check in with our man in charlotte, keith larson host of the keith larson talk show. tell us what about you are hearing from the listeners. we know what it sounds like being debated inside the beltway. what does it sound like outside the beltway?

>> we are becoming a nation of pauls, robbing peter to pay pauls. i wanted to see how much of the class fir that the president is relying on is resonating with the american people. we were asking callers to tell us their income level for last year and then should the tax cuts be extended for everybody or just people below certain income levels. and i know you have got some clips of the callers. >> keep the tax cuts for everybody or raise the taxes on the wealthy. >> i would say keep the tax cuts for everybody. you know, a couple of things about that. i never got a job from a poor man. >> i say keep the tax cuts for everybody. and also give the top 10% tier a bit of a break. >> so you at $18,000 as an individual, david, you say keep the tax cuts for everybody. >> yes, i need customers who have money. >> i'm never going to be that wealthy so that will never affect me so that is me being selfish but the richer people

could share a larger burden. >> and scott, how did you vote in the last election? >> republican. >> really? >> republican born and raised. >> so you are a republican marxist. [ laughter ] >> keith, i like your characterization not sure i ever heard that before, republican marxist. >> he didn't like that but the fact of the matter is that guy made $100,000 last year and he said they have more and they can afford to take it and to take people just because they have more and give it to others just because they need it i'm sorry but that is marxist. >> shannon: did you get that sense that regardless of how you feel about the tax cuts that everybody is playing politics, election year politics with the issue? >> oh, gosh, absolutely. and especially as i said, the class war fare aspect. but the thing heartening is that most people said extend the tax cuts for everybody.

they know it is the right thing to do. and especially people under $100,000 and down to you heard the $18,000 guy under a hundred thousand dollars unanimously said extend the tax cuts for everybody. >> all right, now, you are one of the folks who is in regular contact with alvin green, the man who is vying against senator jim demint who has been in the news quite a bit this week for backing a number of successful tea party candidates. alvin is challenging him. there he is dancing in the studio. what is the latest with alvin this week? >> yeah, sorry, you missed out on me dance no contest the studio. we talked to alvin this week again. story came out from a nuce a story came out from columbia south carolina his air force and why they would not grant him an honorable discharge. they couldn't envision sending him off to combat.

we asked alvin about some of that. >> they say you were taking too long for lunch alvin. were you taking too long for lunch? >> no, that didn't happen all the time. and like i said, the supervisors weren't doing their job and like i said, there was preferencial treatment. >> so sometimes on the too long of lunch. you didn't take a too long of lunch all the time? >> no, things like that didn't happen all the time. >> just sometimes? >> and but like i said, it is nitpicking and that is nit picking, that is nitpicky. >> they are picking nits. >> shannon: picking nits. >> there have been chuckles of alvin and he has gone from man of mystery to enigma. that are audits an odd odditied

questions that he doesn't want to speak to. he has to answer all of this if he wants to be considered anything but just a whack job and a novelty. >> shannon: great to check in with you. have a wonderful sunday. >> sure, you, too, shannon. >> shannon: a feisty congressional race is shaping up in virginia as glen nye tries to hold on to a seat by reassuring voters he wants to extend all of the bush tax cuts. we will talk to the man running against and his relationship to the tea party, right after this wreck. >> i will keep working on it and try to build as big a coalition behind this concept of extending all the tax cuts as possible. i think it is a common sense thing that folks at home are telling us that they would like us to do, especially the people i represent in southeast virginia they are saying it is not the right time to raise anybody's taxes and let's extend all the tax cuts until we see the other side of this

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>> shannon: sheriff's deputies in the los angeles area are searching for 13 members of a cult-like group reported miss big their families this weekend. they are worried. there are 8 children in the group. they left behind i.d.s and deeds to their property and letters saying awaiting the rapture. authorities are also looking for three weeks in connection with the case. mid term elections just weeks away and outside washington the race for a congressional seat in a competitive race in virginia is heating up as scott rigold tries to john se unseat fresh congressman glen ne. you heard from him before the break. the tea party has become a major player in politics. especially on the republican side. they were after you a little bit in the gop primary and

since then you signed a pledge that outlines some of their concerns. tell us why you think it is important now to be aligned with them. >> the pledge was to the people of the second district and these were core values i held all of my life and they are the right core values and if we read through what i was happy to sign, it talks about fiscal discipline and making sure that our constitution is respected to this is a good development in our campaign and i'm delighted to have so much support not only from the tea party but from so many groups from all across our district. >> shannon: and you have some very strong endorsements for people that we would unquestionably consider conservatives folks like, virginia's governor and also congressman mike pence who, by the way, won the straw poll for the value voters summit in washington last night. >> i saw that. >> shannon: i know there are critics ca questioning whetherr not you are a conservative. they talked about the fact that you donated money to barack

obama when was running for the presidency. would you like to answer critics only some of the claims that you are not a true conservative? >> i think that has been fully resolved in the primary. we had a strong resounding victory there and some of the good candidates who i competed against in the primary are standing with us. we have a unified party and we are looking forward to a strong victory on november 2. >> shannon: if you come here and are victorious and make it to washington and are sworn in here blocks away in january, how do you hope to change politics in washington? >> i know the principle of leadership by example. something i learned as a marine in 1978. i think that is mess missing. i think the sense of service leadership is missing and i'm fully committed and resolved to bring those principles to washington. i have 8 specific congressional reforms i will live out whether they are enacted into law or not and frankly they will make members of both parties uncomfortable because i think

both parties have built in privileges, benefits, perks that are not what our founding fathers intended. >> shannon: well, i know a lot of folks are watching to see if you will be among the wave of those trying to unseat the democrats and take over their numbers and their power here in washington. scott rigell we will be watching that race. >> thank you so much. >> we would love to have congressman nye on to talk about these issues as well. the invitation is always open. pope benedict just wrapped up his visit to the uk. we will get a live report from london, next. ♪

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>> shannon: five months after rupturing and causing the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history we have gotten word that the blownout bp well at the bottom of the gulf of mexico has been declared dead. the announcement follows testing that involves engineers exerting 15,000-pounds of weight against the see intercept plug to make sure that it will not budge. pope benedict departed london a short time ago, concluding his trip to the uk which include allegations of an attempted terror attack and the pope's apology for sex abuse in the church. father jonathan morris joins us live from london. great to see you today. >> thank you very much, shannon. >> shannon: how do you think the visit went overall? >> you mentioned the two

things. the strong words of apology for the sex abuse and a promise to put systems in place to make sure it never happens again. he met with victims of clerical sexual abuse and then there was the alleged plot against his life with six people being arrested. the big story and all over the newspapers and blogs here in england and the united kingdom is the pope's consistent words against what he calls aggressive secularization. systems that try to keep faith and religion outside of the public forum and in the land of ofry dawkins and famous atheists people are getting nervous. >> shannon: how do you think that the words were received there. in he was very bold.

it has been a consistent message during his entire visit. >> he was received i think very well. if you look at just the numbers. there were protests. several thousand, a lot of the media is reporting today, say it was the biggest protest. but he had hundreds of thousands of people come out and visit him. and there was a tremendous welcome by queen elizabeth ii also speaking to both houses of parliament. he received as head of state something that no pope has ever been received here in the united king dom. i think there was tremendous warmth by so much of the english people and a great debate going on whether you are religious or not about the role of faith and religion in the public forum. >> shannon: and that debate will continue. we know you covered the visit all week, thanks for joining us. >> it has been a tough task. thanks, shannon. bristol palin makes her

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rested upside down. the injured were driven or air lifted to two different hospitals. >> shannon: rumor has it that sarah palin will make an appearance of tomorrow's dancing with the stars. in the audience, though, don't get too excited. her daughter bristol is one of the season's contestants. it kicks off tomorrow night and abc. we are waiting to see if the famous former governor gets up and puts on her dancing shoes. massachusetts resident marry ellen captured and killed this ail gator in south carolina. she fought the beast for two hours before taking it down. having grown up in florida and seen many large gators i'm guessing there might have been a gun involved at some point. not sure you could do that with